


Moonblade

by Xazien



Category: Dragon Age, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-08-19
Packaged: 2018-04-04 23:56:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4157796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazien/pseuds/Xazien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the crowning of former Inquisition spymaster Leliana as Divine Thedas is stunned by her sudden and progressive reforms. Despite Divine Victoria's best efforts to silence her opposition, some still oppose the changes she brings across.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. By The Light of the Moon

The tavern was almost empty but for a tired bartender and a few dozing patrons in their rented beds, tossing and turning in their drunken sleep. All the candles were unlit and the only light offered in the entire building was a small ray of moonlight peeking in through a hole in the roof. It was under that small sliver of light that a woman sat, her glowing yellow eyes scanning the small parchment letter she had received. The pointed ears marked her out as an elf from miles away but, under the cover of darkness where her intricate black vallaslin was obscured, only those glowing eyes marked her out as Dalish. City elves had long since evolved past having them, as they made them stick out at night when they tried to hide from city guards. But Dalish elves still needed the night vision for hunting. The woman at the table, however, tended to hunt a different prey to most Dalish.

She’d gone by several nicknames over the course of her long and bloody career. The Huntress. The Valkyrie. The Slayer. In all honesty she’d lost track of what her real name was but she had her own, private name. One she kept all to herself. Andruil. From what little she remembered from what the Hahren had taught her in her childhood, Andruil was the elven goddess of the hunt. It suited her. She clung to it, despite the fact she hadn’t even seen another Dalish in decades. Not after bandits had attacked her clan and slaughtered them, burning everything they owned. She’d only survived because one of the hunters had carried her away with him to a nearby village, and he’d succumbed to his wounds and died soon after.

After being adopted by the kindly couple who ran the tavern she’d grown up in the village, trained every day by the hunters and mercenaries that passed through the village at her insistence. Once she’d come of age she’d left the village, armed with her new skills, then tracked down and massacred the bandits who’d murdered her clan. Then she’d started on the path she walked down: the path of a killer. She’d travelled with mercenary bands, royal armies, bandit groups. She’d even spent some time with the Antivan Crows. And she had killed. It seemed like she’d spent her whole life killing for money. What else did she have in the world?

Now, however, it seemed fate had blown something very special her way. A dark haired woman, as pale as the moonlight that Andruil now basked in, had visited her not ten minutes ago. Passed into her hand the letter and a purse of coins, a hundred sovereigns in all. And the letter promised more to come upon the completion of a contract. But this contract was special, unlike any Andruil had taken on before. As she gazed down at the parchment she felt a faint smile come to her lips.

‘A reward of ten thousand sovereigns for the assassination of Leliana Nightingale, better known as Divine Victoria’


	2. The Sunburst Throne

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> To celebrate her crowning as Divine Victoria Leliana has thrown an enormous party in Val Royeaux, with representatives from all across Thedas attending. However, they are not all as friendly to the new Divine as she believes.

“Relax, Cassandra,” Leliana said with a warm smile as the two women wove their way through the crowd, shaking hands and offering polite nods. Leliana was dressed in her most splendid finery, custom-made Divine robes she’d had made from the finest silk and embroidered with precious stones. Cassandra wore her least bloodstained armour. She wasn’t used to soirees.

“I see no reason not to be on full alert,” Cassandra replied coldly. “Events such as these are perfect opportunities for assassination and sabotage. The whole thing was a foolish idea.”

“I’m sure with you here to protect me I’ll come to no harm,” Leliana playfully stroked Cassandra’s cheek as they walked along, a kindly gesture which Cassandra brushed away almost immediately and hid her blushing.

The party was, despite Leliana’s assurances, an enormous risk and she knew it. Dignitaries from every powerful faction in Thedas were present in her palace in the heart of Val Royeaux, meaning there were at least twenty potential fights that could break out at any given moment. But Leliana had picked her specific guests carefully, in a conscious effort to reduce the chances of hostility. Besides, she had plenty of security. Cassandra was at her side at all times. And, of course, there were the Sunburst Centurions.

The Centurions had been Cassandra’s idea. After the destruction of the Templars and Seekers of Truth, the Divine needed new muscle. So, with the personal guidance of Cassandra, Leliana had chosen fifty of the finest warriors from all across Thedas to serve as her personal guard. There were several knights, perhaps a dozen chevalier, a few tribal warlords and even a couple of mages. The Sunburst Centurions were men and women, commoners and nobles, humans and elves, dwarves and Qunari, mages and non-mages alike. No two Centurions were the same but for two qualities: each was one of the greatest fighters known in Thedas, and each was sworn to serve and protect the Divine. With them at her side, Divine Victoria need not fear anyone.

“Looks like I’m right as usual,” Cassandra sighed as she pointed to a group of people in the far corner of the venue. “Trouble is brewing already, and guess who it is.”

It was Leliana’s turn to sigh as she saw who Cassandra was looking at. Of course, it was the mages and Templars. She knew she’d made a mistake inviting both groups. But more guests meant more gifts.

The representatives from the newly-reformed College of Enchanters, lead by Grand Enchanter Fiona, stood in a group shooting vicious glares at the group next to them. After the mages had been granted freedom the College had become a powerful political force with Fiona at its head. They were a far cry from the ragtag band of warriors they were shooting their glares at.

A few dozen men and women were all that remained of the Templar order. After the Templars had been converted by Corypheus into the Red Templars and then destroyed utterly, the last remnants of the order were the few who had survived the destruction of The Conclave and joined with The Inquisition. Lead by a woman named Lysette, these Templars had broken off from The Inquisition once Corypheus had been defeated and attempted to restart the order. But these Templars had been rank-and-file. They had little knowledge of the Order’s rites and customs and, as the group was now separate from The Chantry, they weren’t as popular as they’d used to be. In all these months of trying to rebuild this once mighty group Lysette had managed to recruit one additional Templar, a scarred, surly-faced muscular man named Ponchius. No-one was quite sure where he came from, but judging by his manners most believed he’d once been a bandit. Still, Leliana had decided to invite the entire group along to her party. She’d found the idea funny.

“Ma’am,” a voice behind Leliana sounded, and she turned to greet it. It was her personal servant, a small elven girl named Lily. “It’s almost time for your speech, ma’am, if you wouldn’t mind.” The girl made a small curtsey, to which Leliana smiled softly.

“Cassandra,” Leliana ordered. “Go handle the mages and Templars before they break anything. I have a speech to make.” And with that she walked away with Lily, leaving Cassandra to break up the brewing tension.

“One more thing, ma’am,” Lily whispered as they glided through the crowds. “Centurion Meliarch is still yet to report in, and the other Centurions fear him to be dead. They recommend a search party.”

Leliana pursed her lips. Lycior Meliarch, the leader of the Sunburst Centurions, had been given leave to embark on a personal mission for a couple of days. That had been a week ago and there was still no word. Before being recruited into the Sunburst Centurions Meliarch had been one of the most revered swordsmen in Thedas, travelling all across the continent to compete in melees and duels with the best of the best. He wouldn’t have fallen to a random bandit or beast attack. If he was dead, someone very powerful had gone to great lengths to make him so. If not then something even more suspicious was going on.

“I’ll send out a search party tomorrow,” Leliana replied. “We need the garrison at full strength for this event. And I have a speech to make.”

***

It was the dead of night, the whole palace was completely empty. Andruil smiled as she wove her way through the pitch-black corridors of the building. As her employer had promised every door she found on her way was unlocked, and her Dalish night-vision allowed her to see with perfect clarity. All she had to do was find her way to Divine Victoria’s chambers and cut her throat. She smiled to herself. The Divine had gone all-out with security for the party. A needless waste. Andruil only ever struck at night, where her night-vision gave her an advantage. And with most of the Sunburst Centurions in bed, most tired out from their all-day guard duty at the party, and not a single locked door in her path, this job couldn’t have been easier.

Finally, Andruil had made it to Divine Victoria’s chambers. This door, she had been told, would be locked, but she had been provided with a copy of a key. Whoever her employer was they were good, and had a lot of connections. Andruil suspected that the woman she’d met with had only been a middleman. Quietly as possible, Andruil turned the key in the lock and opened the door, tiptoeing in. Divine Victoria lay silently on the bed before her, fast asleep. As she drew closer to the sleeping Divine Andruil drew a long, thin knife like a foot-long needle. Andruil knew exactly where to aim to go right through the ribs and pierce the heart, killing her target as silently and quickly as possible. She wanted to be in and out as soon as she could. Andruil took a couple of tentative steps forward and found herself right in front of Divine Victoria herself. She raised her weapon above her head, took aim and plunged down.

Andruil’s blade was just about make contact when a dark and shrieking shape flew into her face, knocking her back into a dresser with a crash. Andruil desperately batted at the huge raven that pecked ferociously at her face, finally managing to slap it aside. Andruil then grabbed the raven from midair and snapped its neck before throwing it to the ground. After a moment of catching her breath she looked up to see Divine Victoria standing right in front of her, a knife held tightly in her hand, her face a vision of rage.

“You,” the Divine pointed her knife at Andruil. “You killed Baron Plucky.”

Andruil lunged at Leliana but the Divine easily sidestepped the assassin, swinging her knife at the attacker in response. Andruil ducked, barely missing the blade, before lashing out and stabbing at Leliana’s abdomen. Leliana leapt back from the attack but tripped over her silk nightdress, falling to the ground with an undignified thud. Andruil raised her blade and prepared to finish of her target but the door swung violently open as Cassandra Pentaghast charged in, two of the Sunburst Centurions by her side. Before the assassin could kill her target one of the Centurions raised a crossbow and fired, the bolt passing through Andruil’s back and piercing her heart. The assassin fell forward, one final look of shock on her face, and her corpse hit the ground with a soft thump.

***

“We’ve searched the palace from top to bottom for clues as to how the assassin got in,” Cassandra reported to a still-flustered Leliana. It was the morning after the assassination attempt and the whole city was reeling from the attempt on the Divine’s life. In just a few hours the news had spread across all Thedas and the Sunburst Centurions had been up all night securing the palace. “It wasn’t too hard. It would appear every single door in the palace was left unlocked last night. It would appear the assassin got in through a servant’s entrance and simple waltzed their way through the palace. They had a key to your room. Whoever hired them was very, very well connected. One of the Centurions report seeing a figure moving around the palace a short time after your party finished. It is possible that a guest from the party last night stayed behind in the palace and unlocked every door they could find.”

“How?” Leliana asked. “They couldn’t possibly have gotten hold of that many keys.”

“Well both myself and the Sunburst Centurions own a master key to every door in the palace,” Cassandra continued. “But, as you know, the keys are enchanted. Only the owner of that key can use it.”

Leliana shook her head. “I refuse to believe one of my own people betrayed me. Who at the party could have access to all those keys, or have the ability to pick that many complex locks?”

Before Cassandra could reply there was a knock on the door which Leliana replied to with ‘come in’. Lily walked in, curtseying meekly at both Leliana and Cassandra.

“Lily,” Leliana greeted her servant with a smile. “What can I do for you, my dear?”

“”Ma’am,” Lily was clearly nervous. “I found something while walking through the palace, ma’am. Next to one of the unlocked doors. I thought it best to take it to you, what with everything that’s been going on. Ma’am.” The small serving girl reached into her pocket and took out a red silk handkerchief, giving it to Cassandra with a trembling hand. On it was the symbol of the Sunburst Centurions: a kite shield over a Chantry sunburst. Below that, in the bottom right corner, were two initials. LM.

Cassandra ran her finger over the initials. “I know who this belongs to.” She handed the handkerchief to Leliana and stood up, a cold anger in her eyes. “And I know what happened to Lycior Meliarch. Stay safe, Leliana. I’m going to summon up a hunting party. This betrayal will not go unavenged.”


	3. Maker's Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Filled with a murderous rage, Cassandra sets out to hunt for the man who attempted to have Divine Victoria killed: Lycior Meliarch, traitor to the Sunburst Centurions. But the longer the hunt goes on the less simple it seems

Cassandra rode down the forest path atop her noble steed, Apples. If anyone important ever asked his name was Incisor but to her he’d always be called Apples. She didn’t want news of his real name getting back to Varric. By her side rode one of the Sunburst Centurions, a dwarvern woman named Mizraim Aeducan, atop a bronto. Mizraim had been one of the first recruits to the Sunburst Centurions and had served impressively. She had been a member of the Legion of the Dead before joining the Centurions for, as she put it, ‘a chance to see that sky’. Little was known about her life before the Legion but Cassandra had heard a few rumours. The surname Aeducan was the surname of the ruling royal house in Orzammar. Some said that Mizraim was the lost second child of the late King Endrin Aeducan, sister to the currently ruling King Bhelen Aeducan. She’d been banished to the Deep Roads after killing her brother Trian and hadn’t been heard of since. All this was just rumour, however. All Cassandra knew was that Mizraim was a loyal and capable warrior who currently rode with her to hunt down the traitor Lycior Meliarch. Leliana had only allowed one Centurion to join Cassandra as the garrison needed to be at maximum possible strength to prevent future assassination attempts. Mizraim had immediately volunteered to be that one Centurion.

“The more I think about this the less sense it makes,” Mizraim mused. She was currently reading a letter, one that had been found in Meliarch’s chambers. The apparent cause of his ‘personal mission’ that had taken him away from the palace. “Meliarch had more access to the palace than anyone, he could have personally killed Leliana in a million different ways and no-one would have known it was him. And why disappear so long before the assassin struck? If he’d wanted to unlock all the doors in the palace for her it would have been easier if he’d stayed behind instead of having to come back and sneak around.”

Cassandra sighed. “Maybe once we find him we can ask him that. Hand me that letter.”

Mizraim handed Cassandra the letter, which the former Seeker began to read.

“Dearest brother,

I know it has been many years since I last wrote to you but I can think of no other who can help me. Recently, mother has remarried to a tinker who moved into the village. She has spent many years mourning father so I encouraged her courting of this man, hoping it would help her move on. But this man soon revealed himself to have a much darker heart than mother and I feared. He beat mother and I night and day and we could not speak out on pain of death. Finally we managed to escape the house but he hunts us, brother. We are currently hiding in a cave by the old mill on the outskirts of the next village over, I have sent this message to you via a messenger boy but that is all the help the villagers are willing to give. They do not want trouble brought down upon them. Please, brother, come and save mother and I. Kill this man who torments us, then escort us back to our village. I beg of you.

Your dear sister,

Beatrice”

Cassandra examined the letter with suspicion. She couldn’t help but feel she knew the writing.

“A message, Miss Pentaghast!”

Cassandra turned to see a large black raven perching on Mizraim’s shoulder. One of Leliana’s. The dwarf took the message from the raven’s leg and opened it as the bird flew off. There was a clear look of suspicion on Mizraim’s face.

“Well this is interesting,” the dwarven lady mused. “It would appear that the key used by the assassin to open Divine Victoria’s door is Centurion Meliarch’s master key. The enchantment was removed from it so she could use it.” Mizraim looked up at Cassandra. “Ok, so here’s what I think happened. Meliarch hires the assassin to kill Leliana, giving her his de-enchanted master key to get through the palace. But the assassin needs to move as fast as possible so Meliarch sneaks around the palace pre-emptively unlocking every door for her. All except the Divine’s bedroom door, as that’ll be locked again before she goes to sleep. So he gives the assassin his key to unlock it.” Mizraim shook her head. “No. It just doesn’t... seem right. It’s not like Meliarch at all, too sloppy, too poorly thought through. We’re missing something here.”

The pair turned the corner on their steeds and they found themselves in a village, the village Meliarch’s sister claimed to be hiding near. It was a slim lead on where to find Meliarch, especially seeing as if he was responsible then the letter was simply a forged excuse for him to leave. But it was the only lead they had.

Turned countless heads as they passed through the village, the two women dismounted and hitched their mounts near the village tavern.

“You ask around the tavern,” Cassandra suggested to Mizraim. “I’ll have a look for this cave the letter mentioned.” The two women nodded at each other and parted ways.

***

Cassandra crossed the stream running by the old mill on the outskirts of the village, sword in hand. It was too quiet, she thought. No birdsong, no wolf howls in the distance. The only sound was that of the stream softly running past her. As she turned the corner around the mill she saw a small cave a few meters ahead, with wide entrance. It looked warm, dry and deep. A perfect hiding place for two women on the run. Or one Sunburst Centurion.

“Meliarch!” Cassandra cried as she strode into the cave. “I won’t hurt you, not if you’re willing to give me answers!” Her voice echoed around the walls of the cave. It seemed empty. Just a few vines and webs, not even a rat nest or wolf pack. Or a bear. Shame. Cassandra enjoyed fighting bears, they were strong and worthy opponents.

Cassandra walked a little deeper into the cave before her boot hit something, something that made her reel back in shock. Slumped against the wall was a man in full Sunburst Centurion amour, a longsword piercing his armour and protruding from his chest. Cassandra knelt down to lift up the visor, already knowing what she’d find. She removed the whole helmet and her suspicions were confirmed. It was Meliarch. He was dead, and looking at the body he had been for about a week. This complicated things.

“So you’ve found him, Miss Pentaghast? Took you long enough.”

Cassandra spun around, blade raised, and saw a band of about a dozen men and women standing between her and the cave’s mouth. They were heavily armoured, well armed and all wore helmets.

“Who are you?” Cassandra asked aggressively. “Did you kill Meliarch? Did you hire the assassin? What do you want with me?”

The man at the head of the group simply laughed. “We want you dead, Pentaghast. Same with the Divine. We’d hoped the assassin would kill Divine Victoria, then the handkerchief we planted and letter we lured Meliarch here with would lead you right here. Well, one out of two isn’t bad. We can still have the Divine killed.”

Without any further warning the unknown, helmeted band drew their swords and attacked. Cassandra charged towards them, parrying a blow from the lead man and slashing at one of the more lightly armoured members of the group. Cassandra’s blade sliced right through the assailant’s armour and cut them open. One of the attackers attempt to get Cassandra from behind but she thrust her sword back, skewering him, then brought her sword back and cut the head from another attacker. Two of them came at her at the same time and Cassandra ducked their attacks before coming back up and running one of them through. A third attacker swung a mace at her but Cassandra dove out of the way, the mace instead caving in the skull of the second attacker. Cassandra quickly cut down the third attacker then killed another, then another, then another. Finally all that was left was their leader, the man at the front of the group.

“All your people are dead,” Cassandra stated calmly. “I can do the same to you easily. But I won’t if you tell me what you’re planning, why you’re doing this.”

“We’re doing this for The Maker!” the man responded. “For The Chantry, to uphold the ancient laws and teaching that Divine Victoria desecrates. For a new Divine, for the rebirth of the real Chantry. We will have our-” He didn’t get to finish before a sword burst through his chest. His body fell to the floor as the blade was withdrawn to reveal Mizraim standing behind him, sheathing her sword.

“He was going to tell me his plans,” Cassandra said bluntly.

“Sure he was,” Mizraim replied. “You’re just lucky I found you.” She gestured to the dozen corpses littered around the floor of the cave. “You’re clearly incapable without me.”

“Whatever you say, dwarf,” Cassandra knelt down and took the helmet from the lead assailant, pursing her lips as she recognised the scarred, surly-faced, muscular man before her.

“This make sense,” Cassandra said with a smile. “I know where to find our mastermind.”

***

Cassandra strode through the gates of Skyhold, smiling warmly. It had been too long since she’d last come here, she’d missed the smell of the air and the freshness of the grass. Skyhold had been home for so long, but with a new Divine to serve Cassandra had many duties that took her away from the fortress. One day, though. One day she’d settle down here.

“Cassandra, darling,” a familiar voice called from across the fortress. “You’ve returned to us? What a delightful surprise.”

“Lady Vivienne,” Cassandra bowed and smiled politely as Vivienne strode towards her. “I seek an audience with The Inquisitor, or Commander Cullen. I have orders from the Divine to apprehend an Inquisition member.”

“Inquisitor Adaar and Commander Cullen are absent right now, Cassandra,” Vivienne replied. “You are no longer a member of The Inquisition, whatever business you have will have to wait.”

Cassandra sighed and strode past Vivienne. She wasn’t waiting.”Lysette!” Cassandra called into the courtyard. “Lysette! Come out and face me! I know this is where you and your Templars like to hide!” The people all around Skyhold were looking at each other nervously. Cassandra Pentaghast was an important woman, one not to be crossed. They all knew this. Which was why Cassandra wasn’t surprised when eventually a crowd parted to reveal a pale, dark-haired woman standing there, like a rabbit frozen in shock.

“Lysette, you snake,” Cassandra sneered at the Templar. “I should have known.”

“Cassandra? What... what is the meaning of this?” Lysette babbled as the former Seeker strode forward to meet her.

“I know what you did, Lysette. I know the whole plot.

You hired an assassin to kill Leliana, hoping that after her death her reforms would be cancelled completely. You then sent a fake letter to Centurion Meliarch, luring him away from Val Royeaux so you could kill him. You then used your Templar abilities to de-enchant his master key, meaning it could be used by anyone. After the party you stayed behind and unlocked every door that would be in the assassin’s way, before passing the key onto her so she could unlock Leliana’s bedroom door. You then planted Meliarch’s handkerchief near a door so we would find it and suspect him. You knew I would go to find him, so you had Ponchius and your men lying in wait. Once I arrived at the cave you lured Meliarch to you had them attack me, hoping they’d kill me and remove the last obstacle in the way for your new Divine to take the throne. There’s one thing I want to know. Who is your new Divine? Who orchestrated this? Tell me, Lysette, and maybe I’ll spare the lives of you and the rest of your Order.”

Lysette was looking desperately at the people of Skyhold for help but all she got was blank faces and nervous glances. Vivienne’s face was unreadable.

“I’ll never tell!” the Templar blurted out. “Maker turn his back on you, heathen! You have helped destroy everything that makes The Chantry great!”

Cassandra sighed and took some manacles from her belt, cuffing Lysette as the Templar babbled and screeched. “Thank you for the confession, my dear. Come this way.”

***

Lysette’s cell was dark, rat-infested and filthy. One of the cells at the very bottom of the White Spire’s dungeon, reserved for the worst of the worst. And that included her. Maker curse ‘Divine Victoria’ and that Pentaghast woman. Heretics. Heathens. She may go to her death, executed for her crimes, but her hopes and dreams would live on in the hearts of others.

“Lysette, darling, what am I to do with you?”

Lysette’s heart leapt as she dashed to her cell door, her face lit up. “Lady Vivienne!” Lysette beamed at her mistress. “You’ve come to save me!”

“Hardly,” Vivienne responded coldly. “You had one simple task: kill Nightingale and Pentaghast. That would leave the road open for me to seize the Sunburst Throne and become Divine. But you couldn’t even kill one Orlesian bard and her hired muscle. Pathetic.”

“But...” Lysette faltered. “You are going to help me, aren’t you? You won’t leave me here?”

“Of course not, honey,” Vivienne responded with a mocking smile. “I won’t leave you here. Not so you can spill your secrets, tell everyone I’m the one who organised your little scheme.” Vivienne smiled and raised her hand. “That would be most unprofessional.”

Vivienne clenched her fist and Lysette wheezed as the air in her lung was frozen solid, expanding and shattering her lungs. As Lysette writhed on the floor, suffocating, Vivienne turned away and walked off without a single glance back.

“Next time I’ll hire someone more... professional.”


End file.
